Shutterstock
Spend more than a few days in New York City and you’re bound to hear someone talk about Sleep No More. I’ve been living in the city for over a year, but the $95 ticket price kept me away from the experience despite my friends’ rave reviews. That all changed last night when a special event for the Converse Chuck II launch let me in on NYC’s well-kept secret.
I’ve seen acquaintance after acquaintance light up while recalling their night at the McKittrick Hotel, yearning to go back and see it again, yet I still had no idea what to expect during my experience. I checked Yelp where I learned I’ll probably work up a sweat, not to be the first off the elevator, I’ll be wandering alone most of the night, and actors may kiss you?! What kind of show was this?
But every review and friend said the same thing – keep an open mind and do your own thing.
(If you haven’t seen Sleep No More and plan on doing so, I would stop reading right now. Everyone’s time at the McKittrick is vastly different, and I can’t even attempt to describe it to someone who hasn’t experienced it firsthand. However, I wanted share what I saw so others can compare notes, seeing what they missed and maybe connect some dots. That was your spoiler warning.)
Still with me?
So my experience began as everyone else’s – the only part of the night that I can honestly say that about. The group put on their masks and entered a small room that turned out to be an elevator. It stopped, and the gentleman in the elevator said, “Everyone out”…before letting one girl off and closing the elevator door again. He reminded us, “Fortune favors the bold” before letting everyone out on what turned out to be the third floor.
I’ll break this up into the interesting parts because I honestly spent a lot of time just wandering around on my own, seeing things that made little sense to me.
1. My One-On-One
Yup, I got a highly coveted one-on-one experience with an actress. Earlier in the night, I saw this character pull a guy into a locked room in the private detective agency office, so I figured I’d try to get my girl flirt on with her (at least to the best of my ability while wearing a crazy mask). It worked. She was taking a phone call before another actor came into the room and hung up on the phone her. When he left the room, many masked guests went with him, leaving only a few of us in the room with her. At this point, she gave me a look and a head nod to follow her.
I wish I knew what her role was, but I couldn’t figure it out. She unlocked the door with a key on her neck, shoved me inside, and slammed the door shut on everyone else looking in. The space was pitch black, until she flipped on a light. She said, “You aren’t here for a detective, are you?” I played along, as she instructed me to fill in my name, birth date, and phone number on a piece of paper. Then she led me down a dark corridor that wasn’t accessible to anyone else and was giving a monologue about the dangers that come from being curious and going into the dark as she instructed me to peek through a hole. On the other side was a blonde girl, an actress, she referred to as Grace looking anxious. She then shut the peep hole and opened another, which she had me reach inside. I grabbed something that turned out to be a lighter before she brought me back to the beginning of the small room. There, I signed my name on the document from before. She used the lighter to erase what I had written for my name, birth date, and phone number and revealed that I signed a paper that read, “I sign myself over to her.” I got to keep the paper.
Then, she led me down a different cramped hallway and said, “Sorry, but you belong to her now,” and shoved me out a door alone. I found myself dumped in a hallway, not where I entered the one-on-one encounter. It was really cool, and the one-on-one experiences were as awkward and creepy and exhilarating as people make them out to be.
2. The Hanging Light Room Dance
I came upon Macbeth himself as he suffocated Duncan in bed, then stuck around to watch the body’s discovery and procession out. I followed two actors, one with a mustache and one with a full beard who seemed to be together a lot – honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure of their roles – into a room where about 10 of us were allowed to enter, the door being slammed on others trying to see what was happening. Inside, the two actors pushed us all into one end of the small room that had only a chair and light hanging from the ceiling inside. They did an awesome dance where the light swung side to side yet their actions avoided a collision between them and the light. I was pretty sure the light was going to hit a masked guest, but it was really cool to see, especially since it was a small group.
3. The Girls Getting Ready/Hotel Check In Dance
After the banquet scene, the actors all ran in different directions. I followed the bald female actress and a redhead actress into a tiny room where they washed off, applied makeup, and changed their hair, staring seductively at the small group the room allowed via the mirror. From there, they went outside to a table where they drank with an actor with longer hair. The trio then moved to the hotel check-in counter, and Macbeth joined them for a really cool dance number that involved dancers going behind, in front of, and on top of the hotel desk.
4. Banquo Fight Scene & Death
After watching Banquo and the two men with facial hair play a card game in the room with a bar and pool table, the men ran off. The stewards with black masks on then gestured for everyone to clear the scene and step onto an elevated ledge. Macbeth came in, and it was quickly apparent why we were cleared from the area. The fight scene took up the entire area, with the actors throwing each other up against the walls, over the bar, and on the pool table. Then Banquo was killed out of sight behind the bar. This was one of the best choreographed scenes I saw.
5. Being Led Out By Banquo
After the finale banquet scene, the actor who played Banquo approached me and took my hand. He stared at me as he led me through a few rooms and up some stairs, leading out to the bar and exit. His hands were sticky – I later figured out this was from the fake blood on him (and now on my hand). There, he pinned me against a wall, took off my mask, kissed me on the cheek, and whispered “thank you” before disappearing. As soon as I read there was possible kissing on Yelp, I just knew it would happen to me. It was pretty uncomfortable, but definitely an interesting way to end an interesting night.
From comparing notes with others, I missed a few major moments including the rave (witch orgy) and Lady Macbeth’s bathtub dance. I can’t say I’ll go back soon, but I can definitely see why people do.
If you have any insights on my experience (characters’ roles or something I make a mistake about), please let me know in the comments!
